The Indus: Lost Civilizations
Graham Chandler
Andrew Robinson
2015, Reaktion Books, 978-1-78023-502-8, $25, pb.
The Indus or Harappan civilization, the third oldest after those of Mesopotamia and Egypt, astounds. This peaceful, egalitarian, technologically sophisticated trading empire of around one million thrived from about 2600 to 1900 BCE in more than 1,000 settlements spread over 800,000 square kilometers of what is now Pakistan, northeastern Afghanistan and the Indian states of Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Its two largest cities, Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro, each held 50,000 residents, rivalling Mesopotamia’s Ur, the largest city of the time; and they outclassed it with advanced water and sewer systems. Regular trade networks stretched overland and along the Persian Gulf as far as Mesopotamia. Robinson presents no new theories here; he draws on the works of leading Indus scholars to compose a compact, highly readable and well-illustrated picture of the civilization from genesis to puzzling decline, and legacies including aspects of Hinduism and today’s boats and carts. At a generalist level, he delves into all facets of the society including, importantly, a solid chapter on main attempts at deciphering the elusive Indus script which, if any succeed, will unlock many of the civilization’s mysteries.
You may also be interested in...
Memoir Paints World’s Biggest Game as Great Connector—Our Book Review
Tim Bascom transforms a lifetime of playing football across five continents into a meditation on belonging, arguing that the game’s great gift is not the goals but the wordless understanding it creates among people.
A Scholarly Look at Football in the Middle East—Our Book Review
This collection, edited by Abdullah Al-Arian, explores the early history and growing influence of football throughout the region.